How I Learned to Cook

Most of my friends know that I love cooking, especially Chinese food. I’m not a professional cook, but my food is good enough for a dinner party with friends.

I remember the first time I tried to cook was when I was about ten years old. I told my mom that I wanted to make eggs and tomatoes stir fry. It turned out the tomatoes were only half cooked, and my mom would not let me cook any more…

I didn’t have to cook again until years later, when I was on my first trip to Sweden (I was still living with my parents then). The first meal I tried to make during that trip was stir fried onions and pork. I used too much oil in that dish, and it was so greasy… I have to say it was better than the eggs and tomatoes I made when I was ten years old, because at least the onions were not just half cooked… I also tried to buy frozen food from a nearby supermarket, but hated them. So I was kind of forced to learn to cook, and started searching for recipes and doing experiments. Those food I made weren’t great, but I survived being alone for two months.

I bought a condo in 2007, and started living alone in Beijing. I made good money with my job, and with that income, I could afford to eat in restaurants all the time. However, it would not be a healthy lifestyle, so I cooked for myself now and then. After a few years, I could already make some pretty delicious dishes, with chicken, fish, etc. In early 2010, I stayed in Struer, Denmark for about three months, with some of my Chinese colleagues. During that time, we often cooked together, and my colleagues were pretty impressed about some of the food I made. It was also during that time that I first tried to make dumplings on my own.

At the end of 2014, I moved to Provincetown. Howard was too lazy to cook dinners, so every time he went to Stop & Shop, he would buy tons of frozen food. I always wondered if it had something to do with his cancer. I told Howard he would have to eat no more frozen food since I was here. YouTube was a great teacher, and I learned most of my cooking from those videos.

I really love cooking, and I feel great when my family and friends make good comments on the food I made. I was glad that Howard enjoyed my food, and now, it is Greg’s turn…

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